I took Stubbs, my four year old rescue with MBD, to the vet a couple weeks ago because he was black bearding, acting a little weird. I assumed a URI.When the vet listened to his lungs, he found something he had never heard before in a bearded dragon; a 'significant heart murmur.' His lungs were clear, but his breathing was abnormal and forced.He was put on clindamycin for two weeks and I was told to call back a few days after the meds end (so monday) to tell the vet how Stubbs his doing. If his breathing doesn't get better on the meds, he is to start heart medication to see if we can get him acting a bit more like a normal beardie.

His breathing has always been sort of forced and labored. He doesnt really breathe like any other beardie I have seen before. He is also over a year in recovery from his MBD and he still isn't any more active than he was when I first saw him. So, I am thinking of starting him on heart medication. I am also on heart meds and I know first hand how much the side effects suck.

Have any of you had a beardie on heart medication? Or with a heart murmur? I'm just really worried of doing something to him that will make him worse....

I have heard of a few bearded dragons who have had heart murmors & or heart issues. Therehave been some who have been placed on heart medication, with success.Did the vet do an ultrasound or just listen to his breathing & heart?Can you review his setup a little bit?If he has come from inbred stock, these types of health problems or genetic problems unfortunately.Has his weight been pretty stable?Let us know how he is doing.

When I took him to the vet, he listened to his breathing and his heart. He said that xrays and ultrasounds wont do a whole heck of a lot on a beardie because of where their heart is and the proximity to other organs.

I know where the previous people got him from and, yes, he is most likely inbred as the shop breeds a lot of their own animals (and hasnt been the best for animal care in general).

We went over his set up, diet, husbandry, etc, and Vet said everything sounded perfect. The vet doesn't know the cause of the murmur, if its genetic or if it is from his MBD, and we didn't talk a lot about specific medications and side effects because we were hopeful the antibiotics would clear up the newer symptoms and help him over all. But... his breathing hasnt gotten any better (it has never been what I would call normal) so... we are going to give hesrt meds a shot to see if we can get his heart and lungs working better.

How is your dragon doing tonight?Did the vet discuss changing up his diet any at all, or not? You could try giving some L-carnitine which helps with blood pressure & vessels. Are you giving him a B vitamincomplex or maybe bee pollen? Be sure to keep him eating greens & veggies that are heart healthy, like the collards &mustard greens, at least a few days per week for him.

I went to call my vet this morning to talk about getting him on medication and my vet had to go on a business trip and is going to be gone for a week. So, no meds for him yet.

Stubbs' favorite salad is collard and mustard greens with yellow squash, so we are good on the heart healthy diet. His salads are dusted with beardie buffet, Calcium Plus, and Reptaboost. I talked to my vet about the supplements and his overall diet and he said that it sounded fine and to keep up with it.

He's never had bee pollen before and I'm not sure where to find it, but I've heard that beardies in general love it.

Its been almost two weeks since I started him on his meds. We increased the dose yesterday in hopes of seeing more improvement. He is starting to walk a little more confidently and for longer periods of time and we're both very happy with the results so far. He takes his meds pretty easily also, which I am thankful for. Always syringe train your dragons, you never know what you'll have to medicate them with LOL

That is really good news! It sounds like he is improving on the medications right now.Is he eating pretty well? At least he is moving around better & roaming around for longer periods of time now, too! Definitely keep us posted on his progress.

I have seen even more improvement since increasing his dose on friday. I had him at work with me at work most of the day saturday for an event and he was always so alert and even walking almost like a normal beardie!!!This morning after drugging him, I placed him back in his home and he didn't melt into a pancake. My vet and I am amazed with the results. My vet said to keep a low protein diet because of the medications' ability to cause kidney damage over time and Stubbs certainly doesn't mind it. He loves his salads.

He also gets to meet some famous herp vets in december when they are near where I live because my vet wants them to meet Stubbs. He's becoming famous 🤣